Senate Votes to Repeal Protections for Boundary Waters Watershed 🗳️

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

NOW SITTING ON THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
SENATE VOTES TO REPEAL PROTECTIONS FOR BOUNDARY WATERS WATERSHED

Yesterday, in a narrow (and highly partisan) 50-49 vote, the U.S. Senate used the Congressional Review Act to rip away 20 years of hard-won protections for the headwaters feeding Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

At the center of all this we find Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, who has its sights set on digging an underground copper-nickel sulfide mine right upstream in the Rainy River watershed. And while the foreign-owned operation is not inside the official wilderness boundary (they love pointing that out), it would operate in the connected waters that flow right into it. Unfortunately for all of us, sulfide mining is risky and has a notorious habit of leaking acid and heavy metals that kind-of-sort-of never really get cleaned up.

On the flip side, the project would bring some high-paying jobs to Minnesota’s Iron Range, all while shoring up a domestic supply of critical minerals used in batteries, electronics, and clean energy tech.

Fair enough, at least on paper. 

America needs copper and nickel. But let’s not all be so quickly fooled into thinking that this is some noble domestic mining renaissance. In reality, it looks more like handing a sensitive, irreplaceable watershed over to a company with a track record that includes environmental fines back home in Chile. And what is perhaps most damning about all of this is that it’s doing so by bypassing normal science-based reviews using a procedural trick…

🫎 A Moose Totaled A Wyoming Couple’s Car And Then Thieves Stole The Meat. A Wyoming couple had a rough start to their week after wrecking their 2004 Volkswagen Passat in a collision with a yearling moose on Tuesday. While driving to work near the Wyoming-Colorado border, Tim Wyland swerved to avoid three moose in the dark and struck one at about 45 mph. The impact sent the moose’s head over the car’s roofline, shattered the driver’s side window, and left Wyland with minor cuts from glass and debris. He managed to climb out safely and reported the crash shortly after.

In the Cowboy State, it’s legal to claim roadkill like moose for meat after getting approval from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and filing the proper form. Wyland did just that and a responding game warden gave the beleaguered motorist the green light to salvage the carcass. He and his fiancée, Lindsey Williams, planned to return later that morning with a truck and trailer to recover it for the freezer, something they thought would help offset the loss of their car. But when they arrived at the scene, the moose was gone. As it would turn out, thieves had used a cable winch to drag it off the highway onto a nearby U.S. Forest Service road, ruining most of the meat in the process and cutting off a quarter of what remained.

“We lost our car, and then we lost the moose,” Williams said, noting that the thieves appeared to have acted quickly and obviously without permission.

🗺️ Montana Gives Young Hunters Free onX Premium After Completing Hunter Safety Course. The state of Montana is partnering with onX Maps to give young hunters a valuable incentive. Students aged 12 to 17 who successfully complete a certified hunter safety course through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks can now receive a free one-year onX Hunt Premium subscription. The Montana Office of Public Instruction announced the program in partnership with the Montana-based mapping company that provides access to detailed offline GPS maps, land ownership boundaries and hunting units.

The initiative aims to encourage more youth to get outdoors, complete hunter education, and develop strong conservation values, all while learning proper land access etiquette.

🧨 Explosive Devices Discovered During Maryland Illegal Deer Hunting Investigation. An Annapolis man is now up against 64 felony charges after authorities discovered numerous suspected explosive devices during a search of his home. The investigation began with allegations of illegal deer hunting and resulted in the recovery of a ”significant amount” of homemade destructive devices in varying sizes. Some contained BBs, others were rigged for remote detonation, and several included homemade flash powder. Additional items seized included materials for making explosives, several weapons, suppressors, and ammunition.

Lee Scott Wygal Ralston, 37, was arrested and charged with 32 counts of manufacturing a destructive device and 32 counts of possession of a destructive device. He is currently being held without bond.

Arkansas youth turkey hunt success continues 8-year climb: Hunters from 6 to 15 years old checked 1,494 turkeys Saturday and Sunday during this year’s special youth turkey hunt, roughly 30 birds more than last year’s hunt and more than 300 turkeys than 2024’s hunt numbers. Read the full story.

Sportsmen’s Alliance Secures Critical Fix to Protect Hunting Dogs, Training in Farm Bill: The Sportsmen’s Alliance and its partners successfully secured the removal of anti-hunting language from the Farm Bill that threatened to ban specific hound hunting practices and the use of live lures in dog training. Read the full story.

New Montana hunting regulation aims to maintain female black bear population: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said it was focusing on female black bears because of the important role they play in a stable, well distributed black bear population. They decided to implement a change after Region 4 biologists suggested that bear harvest in their area had reached an unsustainable level. Read the full story.

TPWD: Black bear caught on game cameras first to overwinter in East Texas in 50 years: An American black bear spotted in Cherokee and Anderson County may be the first to spend the winter in East Texas in over 50 years. Texas Parks and Wildlife said they have been following the bear’s activity since July 2025, including his recent appearances at deer feeders in the East Texas area. Read the full story.

New CWD rules regulate disposal of deer, new no feeding deer areas: The Pennsylvania Game Commission is developing new “no deer feeding” boundaries and an optional kit for hunters to have their deer tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and the regulations have changed on how to dispose of a deer. Read the full story.

Missouri Department of Conservation proposing tighter restrictions on nonresident deer hunting: Under the proposed changes, nonresident hunters would see their buck limit reduced from two to one beginning in 2026.  Additional changes could take effect in 2027. This includes the introduction of a $165 permit for hunting on public land and the possibility of a draw system for nonresident hunters.  Read the full story.

🦊 I was today years old when I learned that foxes get their butts stuck together while doing the deed. If, like me, you need the proof, watch the video and see what’s known as the copulatory tie.

Technically speaking, their butts aren’t glued together. He’s kind of stuck in there…

The pull of the weekend.

📸 by: @c_whitlock5

 Oh, and one more thing…